Mirror Image Bride. Barbara McMahon

she wouldn’t return to Fort Worth. That she’d find her place here on the ranch. Frowning at the thought, he tried to banish it. He had work to do, not time to fantasize about a future that was never likely to materialize.

      Chapter Three

      Maddie and Darcy wore their new Western attire home, both pleased with their selections. They had unloaded the car and were already putting things away when Violet knocked on the door.

      “I saw you were home and wanted to see how it went,” she said. Then she laughed. “My favorite color is yellow,” she informed them, pointing to her pale yellow shirt. Maddie’s was the color of buttercups, Darcy’s a brighter yellow.

      “We look like an ad for butter,” Violet said, giving Maddie a hug. “Your shopping spree gives me hope that you’ll stay longer.”

      “I said I’ll be staying at least until Darcy starts school,” Maddie reminded her.

      “I know. And I’m hoping I can convince you to stay even longer.”

      “We’ve been through this. I need to work, and there aren’t a lot of publishing opportunities in Grasslands.”

      “There could be other jobs. Never mind that now. I’m happy you bought the jeans and boots.” A mischievous glint filled her eyes. “Now we just need to get you comfortable riding,” Violet said.

      “We went riding,” Maddie protested. Granted, she couldn’t sit a horse like her twin, but then, she hadn’t been raised around horses since she was little.

      “I’m leaving the next stage to Ty. If he’s teaching Darcy, he can teach you,” Violet murmured.

      Maddie felt her adrenaline spike. If he had his way, he’d not only teach them to ride, he’d have them out on the back forty in no time, herding cattle, avoiding stampedes and fending off rustlers.

      She sighed. In for a penny, she thought.

      As it drew nearer to dinnertime, Maddie’s nerves grew more and more jangled. She’d already spent hours with Ty today. Yet she couldn’t help anticipating seeing him again. She’d felt a special connection today as they shopped for Darcy together. She was growing increasingly interested in the cowboy. She hoped he was changing his mind about her. She wasn’t just a city sophisticate. She fit on the ranch more and more each day.

      Two pairs of boots clomped around the kitchen as she and Darcy prepared dinner—tonight, a roast with all the trimmings. One thing she’d discovered was the huge freezer beside the back stoop filled with various cuts of meat. They’d not go hungry in this house.

      Darcy still wore her cowboy hat. She swaggered around, setting the table, and came over to Maddie several times to watch her.

      “Today was fun,” she said. “Do you think he’ll let us go riding after dinner?”

      “We’ll have to ask,” Maddie said. She wasn’t so sure she wanted riding lessons. What if she made a fool of herself in front of Ty?

      She heard his footsteps on the back porch and it was all she could do to continue slicing the fresh tomato she planned to have with their salads and not turn around to watch him enter. Every cell attuned to him, she tried to be as casual as she could be. But when she heard Darcy greet him, she spun around and added her greeting as well. She was uncertain where she stood with the man. But he fascinated her.

      He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his thick hair. Tossing the hat onto a peg on the wall, he looked at her. His dark eyes seemed to delve right into her.

      “Something smells nice,” he said. He looked at Maddie from the yellow top down to the brown boots, then looked at Darcy. His face softened in a smile as he looked at the miniature cowgirl. “You both look real nice. Still wearing that hat?”

      “I’m a cowgirl. I have to wear a hat,” Darcy explained.

      “Mostly, it’s needed to shade your face from the sun,” Ty said gently. “But it’s okay to wear inside. It looks like you’re ready to ride the range.”

      He hadn’t moved from the door and Maddie wondered if he felt out of place in his own home. It couldn’t be easy to go from being a longtime single man to coming home to a house with two females.

      “I don’t know how to ride,” Darcy reminded him.

      “We’ll get you up to speed in no time. It’s easy,” he said, glancing at Maddie.

      “Don’t look at me. I’ve been on a horse only a few times, that’s about as far as I’ve progressed.” She threw up her hands. “You’re looking at two hopeless city girls. Despite having the stockyards and all in Fort Worth, no one I know there actually owns a horse.”

      His expression went hard. Maddie knew he remembered his wife. She wished she could retrieve the words she’d thoughtlessly spoken.

      “But we’re both willing to learn. Violet said you could teach us,” she said, hoping mentioning Violet’s ringing endorsement of his equestrian skills would encourage Ty to spend more time with Darcy.

      “We’ll get started after dinner.”

      Maddie forced a smile. “That’ll be great. My sister wants me to become as acclimated to the ranch as you want Darcy to become. You get two students for the price of one.”

      “Won’t that be fun?” He scowled.

      Turning so he wouldn’t see the amusement on her face, she resumed slicing the tomato. He spoke with Darcy, his voice gentling somewhat as he explained they could pick out some horses after dinner. She herself wouldn’t mind waiting a few more days, or weeks. But sooner or later she had to become more comfortable or she’d lose out on an important part of her sister’s life.

      * * *

      Ty was expecting to say the blessing tonight. It had never been a part of family life when he was growing up. Of course, nothing much but booze and anger had been part of his childhood life. He tried to forget, but with Darcy around, he couldn’t help but contrast the two of them. He vowed he’d do all he could to protect his little girl. And raise her up right. He was not his father and never wanted to be.

      Dinner passed pleasantly enough with Darcy encouraged by Maddie to talk some more, sharing her best part of the day.

      Her fit of giggles one time touched Ty’s heart. He’d like to hear that all the time. He glanced at Maddie, who was smiling indulgently at the child. She still looked more polished and sophisticated than the women he knew around the various ranches in the area, but at least she was making an effort to fit in. The yellow shirt suited her—looking as pretty as the fancy silk shirts she normally wore. The cotton, however, was much more practical. Maybe it wasn’t the clothes so much as how she wore them.

      Once dinner was finished and the dishes were done, the three of them headed out to the barn.

      The hush of the early evening was everywhere. The men were still in the bunkhouse eating. The horses had been fed and were now dozing in the corral. He heard the bleat of the goat, but didn’t see her. Two of the horses ambled over to the rail fence and hung their heads over. When he reached them, Ty idly scratched their heads.

      Ty had no idea how to teach two girls of different ages how to ride. He couldn’t remember when he hadn’t known how to ride. As far as he remembered, his first time he’d got on and held on until he got the hang of it. Yeah, that’d be great with both of them. He didn’t want either to get hurt.

      To the side of the barn, one of the other cowboys was hosing down Stoney, the gelding he’d ridden that day.

      “He likes that,” Ty said, watching the horse move to get more water from the hose.

      “It’s like he’s in a shower,” Darcy said, laughing.

      “So, which is the gentlest, sweetest horse you have?” Maddie asked, looking through the rails at the horses in the corral. One more ambled